Letter from Caleb 9-30-13

The following letter is in response to a letter I wrote Caleb a couple weeks ago.  I have taken some parts out that were private to only me or the family.  Most of it is here for you to enjoy if wanted.

Caleb is on a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the Anaheim, California Mission.  He has been serving for 11 months and still has 13 months to go.  To find out more about our church just go to HERE

Dear Mom,

Thanks for your letter. I'm going to reply to that now.

First off, I had Mrs Sunderhouse for Second grade. I had Mrs Brown for 3rd, Mrs Jones for 4th, Mr Moore for 5th, and Mrs Dostal for 6th. I know Mrs Murphy, and I know that she turned 50 when I was in 4th grade, but I never had her. Dan had her.

PRIVATE STUFF HERE

You made Cinnamon Vanilla French Toast. Isn't that exactly the same as normal French Toast? As far as I know, you always put cinnamon and vanilla in it. I have been making it lately where I actually don't use milk at all. I use twice the eggs that I would, and I let it soak into the bread until the bread feels soggy. Then I fry it in a small amount of olive oil at a low temperature. Because of all the egg, it gets really light and fluffy and they taste amazing.

Well Mom, if you want a phone with the internet, you better find a good deal and move quickly. Elder Perry, of the quorum of the 12, makes fun of people for carrying notepads and manuals. He says that technology is a gift for us to spread the gospel, and that we need to embrace it. I expect you to have a tablet by the time I get home.

My back is fine. My neck is fine. I'm taking care of myself.

Next I asked him what he wanted me to send him.  I'm always looking for ideas on what to put in his packages.  Most of what he wrote next is a joke.  Caleb LOVES lights and always has and his business before he left on his mission was lighting and technical work, so as you will see from some of his links, he is messing with me.

I do love dove chocolates. Hmm, well I love the ETC Selador, and if you want to send a couple of those... http://www.prolightingsupply.com/ded60ledlu.html 

You know, or a car. Essentially they cost the same. Life is expensive. I just want to do cool things, and I want to do them now. Is that too much to ask? I'm honestly not sure what you could send me. I guess if you want... You could send a 700x 38 C innertube with a presta valve. And a tire patch kit. And two black, 90 degree, brake noodles. And two black brake cables with barrel ends. And a GrandMA2 OnPC Manual. I can't believe it is already almost October. That means I've been out a year. In 10 days I won't have done a show in a year. I'm officially out of practice! GRAH. I'm going a little bit nuts today. If you really wanted to do something nice, find a used "Zoom H4N" on eBay or something, and buy it and send it out. I'd like to make audio recordings to send home, but I can't justify spending 50-100 bucks on something that has very limited use when I could spend $200 and use it for years after I return home too. You don't actually have to do that though. I really have most of my needs taken care of, so now I'm just on wants.

I still have tape for my typewritter, I have plenty of shirts and pants. I guess I need a belt, but that's really it. I'm a 38, but a 36 on a good day. I'm in a car right now so I'm mostly a 38. If you find Croft and Barrow ties, I really like those. Of all the ties I have, the two I have that are croft and barrow have looked the best and held up the best. I like this tie in all the colors, especially green and pink: 
http://www.kohls.com/product/prd-1430023/croft-barrow-philadelphia-plaid-tie.jsp?color=Red

Gold, Green, and blue look the best on this one:
http://www.kohls.com/product/prd-1429133/croft-barrow-austin-striped-tie.jsp?color=Silver

red, blue, and green look the best on this one:
http://www.kohls.com/product/prd-1268259/croft-barrow-allendale-plaid-tie.jsp?color=Silver%20Purple

That is kind of the style I'm going for I guess.

Ok, now you know some things you could get me. I have too many ties now, so I'm going to start sending the ones I don't like home, or trading them. I'd really like to have 12 good solid ties, and 4 really nice ones for Church and things like that, so I'm going to start getting to that level. 

I don't know when the iPads arrive. I'm actually hoping that they don't arrive until January for purposes of the audit, but if they do then oh darn. I guess I'll have to suffer through it :)

I had to take a typing test for the office. I got an average of 57 WPM, but a peak of 92 WPM. Haha! I had no idea I could type fast! I was always a slow typer in High School.

PRIVATE STUFF HERE JUST FOR MOM

Thanks for the letter Mom.

Things have been going really well. Our weeks have been slow, but I can't believe it is already a transfer week. We get leadership calls Thursday, which I believe I will be released as a trainer, and possibly a district leader too, and then transfer calls on Saturday Night. We have a busy week planned out, including two exchanges, a service project, getting our car detailed (I love the fusion so much, I want it forever. I want a Taurus when I get back though. Someday. It's a flipping nice car.), and dinner with awesome people. 

Well, I just saw boobs at the library. Boobs are a surprisingly common sight here. I don't know why certain people think it's appropriate to wear tank tops and then run through the library, but that was super gross. 

Now back to your regularly scheduled interruption. I have 5 letters to respond to but I haven't had the time.

 I can't believe how busy I have managed to be in an area with no missionary work happening. I have seen amazing things happen so far though, like last week. We were making dinner down at the community grills, and a woman was down there too. I started talking to her (I can talk to anyone now. Literally anyone.) and I asked her about her family. Her daughter is going to CalState Fullerton (which is just across the 57 freeway) and majoring in business. She was in show choir throughout high school, which gave me a point to talk about. After a few minutes she said that she was really worried for her daughter, who was really sick right now. I asked her about her relationship with God, and she said that it was suffering. I asked her if she prayed lately. She said she stopped praying years ago because she was sick of praying to a saint. She said "The Bible teaches us to pray to God, yet they want me to pray to specific saints. Why would a church teach contrary to what the bible teaches?" I told her that she was right. We are commanded to pray to God and to pray often. In fact, it is one of the oldest and most repeated commandments in the Bible. I shared one of the many experiences I have had with prayer and with finding answers to my prayers. I asked her if she had ever had a prayer answered. She said yes, and I asked her how it felt. She said "It was this overwhelming feeling... of comfort, and peace. I knew things would work out." I asked her if she knew the proper order of prayer, and she said no. I taught about how prayers are a communication with our Father in heaven. I taught her that a prayer can be as simple or as complex as she wanted. I told her that the proper way to pray was to address our Father in heaven, perhaps saying something like "dear Heavenly Father," thanking Him for the blessings that she had seen in her life. Then ask for something that you may need, such as help with your daughter, and then to close her prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. I asked her if she would pray with us on behalf of her daughter. She said she didn't know if she was ready to pray, but asked if we would. So, in the middle of a busy community grill and pool area, we bowed our heads and prayed to God for Jeanette, and for her daughter. She was crying when we finished and said "I didn't even have a reason to come down here today. I came because I knew I needed to be here." We asked her to pray and include her daughter when she did. She promised she would. We got her information and passed it to the appropriate Elders for that area. They have begun teaching the family, and Jeanette and her daughter are getting baptized in 3 weeks! 

There have been amazing things happening. That is just one such experience. What was cool is that I was on exchanges with Elder Spencer, and Elder in my district who has been struggling a bit. He didn't say a single thing with Jeanette, but after she left and we were heading back up to the apartment, he asked how I knew what to say to her. I had the opportunity to teach Elder Spencer through experience that when you open your mouth it will be filled. I didn't know her daughter was sick. I had never met this woman before and didn't know anything about her. I didn't need to though. Heavenly Father knows his children incredibly well, and when we are worthy to speak and share the gospel, He will fill our mouths with the things that He knows His children need to hear. 

So that was pretty cool. 

I'm going to head off, but I love you! Thank you for being so supportive of my mission and for keeping me on the right track when I was younger. Thank you for not always saving me from trials and for letting me struggle. I am so thankful for the trials I have had and for them shaping me into the person I am today.

Love,

Elder Caleb Clark